How good is a 40mm and 60mm?

[spacegalaxy]

Okay, honestly I have reverse apeture fever. That's why I am asking how good a 40mm and 60mm refractor are. I am obviously going to look at the moon with it.

(P.S. Also what else can you with both of them except the moon and Sun?)

Starry nights

 

[JeremyS]

I too had reverse aperture fever. The Takahashi FOA 60Q cured it. Perfection! And a joy to use.

[Zeta Reticulan]

11 minutes ago, spacegalaxy said:

Okay, honestly I have reverse apeture fever. That's why I am asking how good a 40mm and 60mm refractor are. I am obviously going to look at the moon with it.

(P.S. Also what else can you with both of them except the moon and Sun?)

Starry nights

 

Depends on the particular refractor.

I can see a lot with this (Altair 60mm EDF). 

I can see nebulae, open clusters, globular clusters, asterisms and split doubles. I've witnessed Galilean eclipses and shadow transits and at least two of the moons of Saturn (Titan. Rhea).

[Knighty2112]

I would say if you want to observe more than the moon and the sun then then get a minimum 60mm aperture. This will show Jupiter and Saturn reasonably well and allow approx 120x magnification. Venus will show it’s phases well too. If you got an ED scope this generally allows you to push magnification a bit more too. Should get some nice widefield views with it too.

[catburglar]

I’m just starting on this path too…I have a 10inch SCT, 90mm Mak and (arrived this week) a TV-60…Not had a chance to use it in anger yet, but the prospect of wide field and high(ish) mag lunar and double stars, in a package that can be carried in one hand and do double duty for bird/wildlife spotting pushed me over the edge.

but,I probably wouldn’t have gone for anything smaller than 60mm.

[Louis D]

On 14/08/2022 at 09:40, spacegalaxy said:

Okay, honestly I have reverse apeture fever. That's why I am asking how good a 40mm and 60mm refractor are. I am obviously going to look at the moon with it.

(P.S. Also what else can you with both of them except the moon and Sun?)

Starry nights

 

Achro, ED, or APO?  A 60mm f/11 achromat was the traditional entry point for astronomy for most of the 20th century.  I have a 72mm ED that is much more compact with slightly more aperture.  I really like its compactness and ability to accept 2" eyepieces.  Wide field views are fabulous with it.

[Dave1]

It all depends on the quality of the glass used, what type of glass, and how well figured the glass is. A slow Achromat like my Skylight 60mm F16.7 Carton objective lens can show you a lot for the aperture. 

With small objectives you need to be more patient, and it hones and improves your observing skills .